internship programs

Our sister site Internships.com just released an extensive new set of survey results on the importance of the internships market. The results reveal the importance of an internship experience, for students and employers alike.

Make sure you’re up to date on the latest employer trends in the exploding internships market:

1) More employers are hiring their interns for full-time positions.

Internships have become the new interview as 69% of companies with 100 or more employees offered full-time jobs to their interns in 2012. This comes after the fact that the overall internship experience has been overwhelmingly positive, as 85% of employers report that hiring interns was a positive experience.

2) Employers value work experience over academic performance.

A snapshot of the infographic, below, reveals that employers largely look at interview performance and relevant experience when making hiring decisions, and report that college / university preference is the least important factor.

This emphasis on experience gives momentum to the idea that internships have become a “must have” and are no longer a “nice to have” on the resume of an entry-level candidate. Employers are open to hiring college grads looking to gain real-life work experience – 83% of employers would consider internship applications from recent college graduates.

Click to View the Full Infographic

3) Employers will hire more interns in 2013

53% of companies plan to hire more interns in 2013 than they did in 2012. While students are able to test drive a career, employers are able to test drive talent. Internships.com CMO Stuart Lander explains further in a recent Forbes article, “Internships May Be The Easiest Way To A Job In 2013” –

“… employers get the opportunity to find the talent they need to help grow their business without relying on just a short interview,” Lander says. “Entry level employees are the future of a company and so in many ways the most important recruiting decisions an employer can make.”